I had a bit of a shouting match with the fam on Sunday. It’s always a bit fraught and tense watching football with the men in my family, especially if the Hammers don’t have a great start from the moment the referee puts the whistle to his lips. Firstly, because they’re the most impatient, touchy, critical sods on the planet during the game and secondly they think they know everything.
Right from kick off my youngest brother Billy was annoying me with his moaning. It takes all of the enjoyment out of watching, not that there was too much enjoyment to gain from that first half if I’m honest. But both him and my step-dad have got it in for Kevin Nolan and it was really doing my head in. Every single time he touched the ball, lost the ball, went in for a challenge, mistimed a tackle, hit a pass (stray or not), they were up in arms. “He’s useless!” “What is he even doing on the pitch?!” “Sam has to drop him!!” “Why didn’t he start Poyet instead?!” Blah, blah, blah it went on and on. I lost it in the end and we ended up shouting at each other for a second or two until my brother wheeled out his go-to phrase “Bianca, this is men watching football!”
Say what now?? Hold on, wait a moment, breathe, count to ten before answering…
“Excuse me? So men watching football means you have to whine like little bitches for 90 minutes? Ranting on at the TV about a situation that, as far as I can tell, isn’t going to change any time soon? What’s the point? Get over it!”
Bearing in mind I was watching football and going to matches when Billy was still a mere glint in my step-dad’s eye he’s got a bloody cheek. Anyway it went on like this for the entire game until the 88th minute when Super Kev (as I am calling him from now on just to wind my brother up) was substituted. Cue cheers from the “men watching football”.
To a certain extent I understand where my brother is coming from. These are the arguments against…
Nolan is no longer the player he was. I think he’d even admit that himself. West Ham isn’t the team it was a few months ago…the glory days of late 2014. As the season commenced injuries forced Sam’s hand, no Nolan or Carroll, so the new boys had to be tried and tested, Downing was shifted, experiments were made and risks taken. Somehow it worked and the pundits, bloggers, fans’ forums, and hacks with their headlines dedicated hours on gushing words of appraisal and outbursts of pleasant surprise. A light shone on Upton Park and it felt good.
However, old habits die hard and since Nolan and Carroll’s return we have reluctantly watched the slow drip drip drip back to the old ways, revisiting former formations and moving players to accommodate them. For Carroll he has flourished at times, finding ways to adjust, make his mark, rediscover his form and fitness, to get in the game! For Nolan it has been harder and unsurprisingly he has sometimes floundered. The team has moved on, at a much faster pace, and some have suggested he has struggled to keep up. So instead the team has found itself slowing down to adapt. It’s more functional, less fluid, more systematic, less dynamic. Apart from his offering at the Hawthorns he is failing to do what he used to do best, score goals from midfield. At the moment there is no final product, so the question has been asked, if he’s not scoring what is he there for?
In the past few weeks our midfield has become steadily less effective, it is frequently being bypassed, our creativity has subsided, there’s a lack of vision. When Song and Noble sit deep, they need a certain type of player in front of them, one with vim and vigour, who can work the ball, lots of movement, pace, who can seek out the runs in behind, split defences, make pin-point passes, run at defenders even. I lost count of the number of times the word ‘revelation’ was used to describe Downing in this role. But in the first half against Hull and again against Bristol City he was pushed out wide where he becomes the forgotten man.
So yes, I understand the frustrations. But, come on, the yawnfest at Ashton Gate wasn’t all down to Nolan. Alex Song had a bad game and was hauled off, Downing as I said was marginalised, Noble wasn’t at his best either. The midfield was pretty ineffectual for the first half. Up front Carroll hustled and bustled in vain and Valencia couldn’t hold on to the ball or held on too long. It was messy. Dire in fact. Credit to the Robins they worked hard and created good chances. Allardyce changed tack against Hull and again at Bristol City. He recognised what wasn’t working and made the necessary alterations. He didn’t take Nolan off though…so there’s a case to argue that it’s the plan and not the man that’s the main problem. If Big Sam knows what’s wrong and can identify our best approach only he can tell you why he doesn’t start with it. I can’t answer that one.
What grates with the fans is that, in or out of form, Nolan seems to be a shoe-in, the managers son, Sam’s man who walks into the team as and when, guaranteed a place in the starting XI.
I disagree!
I’m not having it. It’s not as black and white as that. In actual fact apart from Chelsea (and I’ve already expressed my feelings on that team selection) Nolan has only played when one or more of the regular first team midfielders has been out. When Kouyate, Downing, Noble and Song have been available they have all got the nod. With the added bonus of Amalfitano sprinkled here and there. Super Kev hasn’t started every game since coming back. Allardyce has tinkered with the midfield be it because of injury or the AFCON, so, with that in mind, how can we argue that Nolan’s name is automatically first on the team sheet?
We all think we know what’s best for the team. We all think we know who should play where and when. Certain supporters just do not like the style of football played when Nolan is in the team. I get it. They pay their money they’re entitled to vent…yet sometimes I feel he’s not given a fair crack of the whip.
Obviously I’d prefer to watch the West Ham of earlier this season too. All the time! But is that really sustainable? Can any team maintain that level of energy, tempo and creativity consistently without a break? Sometimes games are stagnant, sometimes players’ levels drop (nice holiday Raheem?) sometimes buses are parked by the best managers in the world (yes Jose even you!)
Maybe we’re not always going to get that exhilarating, pulsating, barn-storming style of football when Nolan plays. I thought the second half of the Hull game was pretty decent though and a cup win is a win however it comes…as I said earlier, Nolan was still on the pitch for those. He does a job. There were some big scalps taken by lower league teams at the weekend. West Ham wasn’t one of them and Nolan was part of our progression to the next round. It wasn’t pretty and I was half asleep by the end of it but he was there!
Consider this, he’s one of the hardest working members of the team, he clocks up the miles, his stats stand up to, and often surpass, any of his teammates. Ok there’s not always an end result and we sometimes see headless chicken instead of funky chicken but he’s an example to others that graft matters. He cares!
He’s been a fine servant of the club, he dropped down a league to join a Championship club in disarray, which at the time was a monumental decision. He helped get us up and keep us up, yes I grant you his remuneration has been more than sufficient but he’s no mercenary. I don’t believe he did it just for the money. It’s a two way street. You give your services you get paid for them and like it or not that’s how much players earn. You get what you pay for. It was the owners shout, funded by you to the tune of £4m plus salary…haven’t we got our money’s worth?
He’s given us goals, important goals and he helped lift a dressing room that was on its knees. A dressing room that is now unrecognisable. He has been a valued representative for his team and a positive influence at the training ground. Priceless.
During his career he’s scored 99 league goals and only four central midfielders have scored more Premier League goals than him…Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Gary Speed (stat via The Telegraph). I’m not saying he deserves a place because he WAS a good player, but I don’t agree that he is no longer a good player. I’ve also seen a couple of blogs and articles slagging him off…listen he is our club captain and deserves a bit of respect. We’ve only lost five of the games he’s been involved in and two of those were Chelsea and Arsenal. Spurs we should have won, Man U we were unlucky and the other was our bogey team. So give the guy a break. You know who you are. BILLY!
When Kouyate returns and Sam has a fully fit midfield to choose from that will be the true litmus test. I suspect Nolan will make way. His starts will stop. An incoming Darren Fletcher would further seal his fate.
We’ve got some tough fixtures coming up. The next few weeks will reveal how good we really are and how adept a manager Sam Allardyce can actually be at West Ham. Nolan would be far more suited as an impact player coming off the bench. For me he’s still got a significant role to play. He remains an asset. 99 goals and counting…I’d love a century at Anfield.
Come on you Irons!
B x